Chicago’s first-ever festival focusing on work created by and about artists with disabilities includes performances, visual art, film and video, lectures, and workshops presented throughout the city and in some suburban locations Thursday, April 20, through Sunday, April 30, with several visual art exhibits running beyond those dates. More than 50 cultural institutions and community groups are participating; all venues are wheelchair-accessible and have accessible restrooms. Many performances include audio description, word-for-word captioning, or sign-language interpretation. Below is a schedule of selected events through Thursday, April 27; for a complete schedule and information on public transportation, parking, accessibility, and accommodations, see www.bodiesofwork.org or call 312-744-6630 (TTY 312-744-2927).
Opening Night Celebration
Bodies of Work: A Public Forum
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Momenta and Dance
Weights
Los Angeles-based poet, playwright, and actor Lynn Manning performs his autobiographical solo piece about growing up in foster homes and learning to live without sight after being blinded in a bar shooting at age 23. “For mature audiences.” a 7:30 PM, Museum of Contemporary Art, theater, 220 E. Chicago, 312-397-4010, $22; postshow discussion.
Cradle of Man
SATURDAY 22
A Celebration of the Life of John Belluso
Youth Poetry Reading and Dance Performance
Young poets from Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago perform readings “about their emerging self-awareness.” Following the readings, the Western DuPage Special Recreation Association presents an adult dance performance. a 3 PM, Jane Addams Hull House Center for Arts and Culture, 1136 W. Wilson, 773-907-9304. F
The Exponential Power of Art in Building a Global Disability Culture
Mirror of Unique: Beautiful Me, Beautiful Us
See listing for Fri 4/21. a 7 PM, Chicago Cultural Center, studio theater, 78 E. Washington, 773-435-3536, $15.
See listing for Fri 4/21. a 7:30 PM, Museum of Contemporary Art theater, 220 E. Chicago, 312-397-4010, $22.
Erasing the Distance: The People I Know
See listing for Fri 4/21. a 8 PM, Jane Addams Hull House Center for Arts and Culture, 1136 W. Wilson, 773-944-5062, $15.
SUNDAY 23
See listing for Fri 4/21. a 2 PM, Chicago Cultural Center, studio theater, 78 E. Washington, 773-435-3536, $15.
Smudge and Sun Always Shining
Two G-rated works. Smudge is about a young girl with Down Syndrome who tries to smuggle a puppy into her group home; Sun Always Shining profiles the mentally disabled Chicago landscape artist Kenneth Williams. a 2:30 PM, Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th, 773-445-3838, $5.
Sealboy: Freak
MONDAY 24
TUESDAY 25
Inclusion, Democracy, and Disability
University of Chicago political scientist Iris Marion Young heads up a panel discussion. a 4 PM, University of Illinois at Chicago, auditorium, 1640 W. Roosevelt, 312-996-2151. F
Universal Design: A Catalyst for Invention
Panel with Access Living CEO Marca Bristo, designers Valerie Fletcher and Coco Raynes, and Metropolitan Museum of Art access coordinator Rebecca McGinnis. a 6 PM, Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago, 312-397-4010. F
WEDNESDAY 26
Poetry & Jazz Coffeehouse
The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago sponsors a program of readings and music. a 10 AM and 1 PM, RIC, LIFE Center, 345 E. Superior (first floor), 312-238-5433. F
Traffic
Conceptual, interdisciplinary dance, and media artist Bill Shannon delivers an improvised, choreographed performance that the audience watches from a moving tour bus equipped with video screens and a DJ, as Shannon mixes his relationship to the concrete with freestyle street dancing, gravity-defying skateboarding, and silent-film poetics. a Departs 6 PM from Museum of Contemporary Art, theater, 220 E. Chicago, 312-397-4010, $22.
Bodies of (Comedy) Work
The Chicago Improv Festival cohosts this evening of deaf improvisation featuring solo performer Terry Galloway of Austin and the company Ice Worm of Los Angeles. Tekki Lomnicki hosts. a 7 PM, Chicago Cultural Center, Preston Bradley Hall, 78 E. Washington, 312-744-6630. F
Aaltra
Benoit Delepine and Gustave Kervern’s Belgian comedy in black-and-white ‘Scope follows a couple of feuding farmers who wind up paralyzed in wheelchairs after being run over by a tractor and who travel together to Helsinki to confront the company that built the tractor. I saw this alleged crowd-pleaser about eight months ago and barely remember it. In French, German, and Finnish with subtitles. R, 90 min. (JR) a 7:30 PM, Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th, 773-445-3838, $7.
THURSDAY 27
Human Beings: Disability in Contemporary Art
Gallery talk with artist Riva Lehrer and curator Zofia Zutautas. a 12:15 PM, Chicago Cultural Center, Michigan Avenue Galleries, 78 E. Washington, 312-744-6300 . F
See listing for Wed 4/26. a Departs 6 PM from Museum of Contemporary Art, theater, 220 E. Chicago Ave., 312-397-4010, $22.
From Satire to Surreal: Award-Winning Disability Shorts From Overseas
Short films and videos from France, Australia, the UK, and the U.S. 73 min. a 6 PM, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 312-744-6630 (TTY 312-744-2947). F
Re-Inventing Ourselves
Short films from the UK, both from 2004: Lloyd Newson’s The Cost of Living and Paul Sapin’s Born Freak, the latter a study of how disabled people have supported themselves through carnival freak shows. Mat Fraser (see listing for Sealboy: Freak for Sun 4/23), one of the stars of Born Freak, will participate in a postshow discussion. a 8 PM, Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 312-744-6630 (TTY 312-744-2947). F
EXHIBITS
Human Being: Disability in Contemporary Art
Work by 20-plus artists, through 6/4. Also, “Thinking Out Loud,” work from studio programs for artists with disabilities, through Sun 5/14. Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington, 312-744-6630 (TTY 312-744-2947). Mon-Thu 8 AM-7 PM, Fri 8 AM-6 PM, Sat 9 AM-6 PM, Sun 10 AM-6 PM. Audio describers look at “Human Beings” Sat 4/22 and Thu 4/27, noon-2 PM. F
Self-Portraits as an Artist
Work by Jason Lazarus, through Sun 4/30. Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago, 312-397-4010. Tue 10 AM-8 PM, Wed-Sun 10 AM-5 PM. $10, $6 students and seniors; Tuesdays free. Tour with sign-language interpretation Tue 4/25, 5 PM.
Peer.me.sis Project
Autobiographical art from Little City Foundation, Thu 4/20-Wed 5/31. South Shore Cultural Center, 7059 S. South Shore (daily 9 AM-6 PM), and Gallery 37 Center for the Arts, 66 E. Randolph (Mon-Thu 10 AM-7 PM, Fri 10 AM-6 PM, Sat 10 AM-5 PM, Sun 11 AM-5 PM), 847-221-7766. Free. Audio describers will be at South Shore Sat 4/22 and 4/29, 1-3 PM, and at Gallery 37 Thu 4/20, 11 AM-1 PM and Sat 4/29 1-3 PM.
Navigation/Negotiation
“Disability-themed” art by School of the Art Institute students, staff, and alums. Fri 4/21-Mon 6/12. Gene Siskel Film Center, 164 N. State, 312-499-4286. Mon-Fri 5-9 PM, Sat 2-9 PM, Sun 2-6 PM. Free. Reception Thu 4/27, 5:30-7:30 PM, with tours led by audio describers and sign-language interpreters at 6:30 PM.
Expressions of Ability
Group show, through Sun 4/30. Jane Addams Hull House Center for Arts and Culture, 1136 W. Wilson, 773-907-9403. Mon-Fri 10 AM-6 PM, Sat noon-5 PM. Free. Sign-language interpreters will be on hand Sat 4/22, 2-6 PM.
Disability in Chicago
Historical exhibit, through Mon 7/31. National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum, 1801 S. Indiana, 312-326-0270. Tue-Fri 11 AM-6 PM, Sat 10 AM-5 PM, Sun noon-5 PM. $10, $7 students. Audio describers survey the show Fri 4/21, 4-6 PM, and Sat 4/29, 3-5 PM.
The Abstract Mind
Mural Mural by 30-plus professional artists working with “individuals living with mental illness,” Thu 4/20-Sun 4/30. Museum of Science and Industry, 57th and Lake Shore Dr., 312-337-2536. Mon-Sat 9:30 AM-4 PM, Sun 11 AM-5 PM. $11. Audio described Wed 4/26, 4-6 PM.
Interactive Playground
Art from seven countries exploring “the concept of disability,” plus work by members of the group Arts of Life, through Sun 4/30. Also, “Urban Perspectives,” cityscapes and portraits by adults with developmental disabilities, Thu 4/20-Sun 4/30. Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th, 773-445-3838. Mon-Fri noon-8 PM, Sat-Sun noon-5 PM. Reception Fri 4/28, 6-9 PM. F
ImaginArt
Drawings and paintings by kids and adults with special needs, Sat 4/15-Sun 4/30. LaSalle Bank, 135 S. LaSalle, lower arcade, 312-726-7090. Daily 8 AM-6 PM. Audio described Wed 4/26, 10:30 AM-12:30 PM. F
Side by Side
Collaborative work by disabled and nondisabled artists, Thu 4/20-Sun 4/30. Hinsdale Public Library, 20 E. Maple, Hinsdale, 630-986-1976. Mon-Thu 9 AM-9 PM, Fri 9 AM-6 PM, Sat 9 AM-5 PM, Sun 12:30-5 PM. Reception Thu 4/27, 7-9 PM. F
